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Studies & Degrees in Pre-Occupational Therapy

Pre-occupational therapy (pre-OT) is an undergraduate preparation track in the United States for students who plan to become occupational therapists. Occupational therapists help people of all ages who have physical, cognitive or emotional difficulties to carry out everyday activities. In the United States the professional training takes place at graduate level, so students first complete a bachelor's degree and the courses that graduate programmes ask for. Pre-OT is the name colleges give to that preparation.

Pre-OT is usually not a degree of its own. It is an advising track or a concentration inside another major. Tennessee Tech University, for example, explains that most health professional schools require academic coursework before admission, and that students who follow its Pre-Occupational Therapy Career Track will have much of that coursework completed when they apply to occupational therapy programmes.

What students learn

The courses are set by the graduate programmes. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), master's programmes in occupational therapy frequently require applicants to have completed coursework in biology, psychology and other sciences, and some also require volunteer or work experience in an occupational therapy setting.

The Ohio State University gives a concrete example. Applicants to its entry-level Doctorate of Occupational Therapy (OTD) must complete these prerequisite courses before they start:

  • abnormal psychology
  • introductory or general biology
  • introductory sociology
  • human anatomy and human physiology
  • intermediate or technical writing
  • statistics
  • medical terminology

Ohio State also asks for a minimum of 20 documented hours of practical experience (observation, volunteering or work) in at least one occupational therapy setting. Each graduate programme sets its own list, so pre-OT students plan their courses around the programmes they intend to apply to.

Qualifications and levels

The route has two stages.

  • Bachelor's degree with a pre-OT track. The BLS notes that admission to graduate programmes requires a bachelor's degree, although it may not need to be in a particular subject. Ohio State states that no single major is preferred as preparation. At Tennessee Tech, pre-OT students typically major in biology, exercise science (which has a pre-occupational therapy concentration), human ecology, psychology or interdisciplinary studies. Several schools in the list are two-year community colleges; students who start there go on to a bachelor's programme, because graduate admission requires a bachelor's degree.
  • Graduate programme in occupational therapy. Occupational therapists typically need a master's degree to enter the occupation, and master's programmes usually take 2 to 3 years, according to the BLS. Some universities offer a doctorate as the entry-level qualification instead: Ohio State now offers only the entry-level OTD. Some schools run dual-degree programmes that award a bachelor's and a master's degree together.

All US states require occupational therapists to be licensed. To sit for the qualifying exam, candidates must hold a degree from an accredited occupational therapy programme that includes fieldwork. The exam is run by the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT), whose education requirements differ for candidates educated in the United States and those educated abroad.

The structure differs in other countries. In Spain, occupational therapy is a bachelor's degree (grado) of 240 ECTS credits that students enter directly, with no pre-OT stage.

Where to study

SpainExchange lists 12 active schools under pre-occupational therapy: 11 in the United States and one in Spain. The US schools include large public universities, such as The Ohio State University in Columbus and Tennessee Tech University in Cookeville, and two-year community colleges. Teaching is in English.

Before choosing a school, ask how its pre-OT track works: whether it is a major, a concentration or advising only; which graduate programmes its students usually apply to; and whether it helps students find observation hours. Admission to graduate programmes is selective. Ohio State, for example, describes its OTD admission as highly competitive and asks for a minimum overall GPA of 3.00 on a 4.00 scale.

Careers

A pre-OT track does not qualify a graduate to practise. It leads to a graduate programme, and the bachelor's degree it sits in (biology, psychology, exercise science) keeps other options open.

For qualified occupational therapists, the BLS counts about 169,600 jobs in the United States in 2025. The largest group, 28 percent, worked in offices of physical, occupational and speech therapists and audiologists, followed by hospitals with 26 percent. The BLS projects employment to grow 15 percent from 2025 to 2035, much faster than the average for all occupations, with about 10,000 openings a year.

Frequently asked questions

Is pre-occupational therapy a degree?

Usually not. It is a track or concentration within a bachelor's degree that covers the courses required for admission to a graduate programme in occupational therapy.

Which major should a pre-OT student choose?

There is no required major. The BLS says the bachelor's degree may not need to be in a particular subject, and Ohio State states that no single major is preferred. Biology, psychology and exercise science are common choices at Tennessee Tech.

Can I work as an occupational therapist after a pre-OT track?

No. In the United States, occupational therapists typically need a master's degree in occupational therapy, and all states require a licence.

Do graduate programmes ask for practical experience?

Some do. Ohio State requires at least 20 documented hours of observation, volunteer or work experience in an occupational therapy setting.